Tiberios
03-21-2023, 12:14 PM
It is him, more alive than ever and somehow here, with her, years beyond what might be considered possible. Her Tiberios. The same melancholic heart beating in his chest, exploding from joy. The same begrudging laughter, rough around the edges and just barely astonished at the weight of her thrown up against him. A shade older and perhaps none the wiser, but still very much the exact Tiberios whose untimely death would become an unexpected cataclysm for so much future pain and suffering.
He was just as amazed by Talulah, how the very first touch of her smooth, magical skin seemed to unlock a flood of memories he’d nearly forgotten on his journey through a second mortal life. Floating through them, Tiberios closed his eyes and leaned into her embrace like a ship dropping anchor, mooring himself to the very physical, very warm reality of her presence as all the pain and anger he’d forgotten came crashing over him.
It was one thing to live on the edge of humanity and rely fully on his senses, to pretend like nothing bad had ever happened, but it was an entirely different thing to come face-to-face with someone Tiberios thought he’d lost forever. The joy of seeing her again, of touching her and feeling recognized, of feeling loved … It was a joy shadowed by bitterness. In the wake of his resurrection, he couldn’t forget that everything he’d ever loved or cared about was gone. The Dale, The Falls, everyone in them and the family built up around him; they were all of them either dead or vanished in time.
That realization had broken him, in a way. It had forced Tiberios to shrivel inward, to suppress the memories until he only thought about eating, drinking, or surviving. So it was only right that remembering would cause him pain, since shoving jagged pieces together never could quite make an object whole again.
“You are here,” she guides him back like the stars guide their watery vessels, and Tiberios is recovered enough that his half-hearted smirk makes an appearance. He only has enough time to appreciate her everlasting beauty and catch a rare twinkle in her eye when, at last, she distances herself, but the ache to have Talulah cradled against him one more time is nearly more than Tib can bear. He’s secretly glad when she comes rushing back, and not just because he thought he might fall apart again if she stayed away.
It’s because she reminded him of so much more than just memories.
“Alright, I won’t.” He chuckled, more than willing to give her anything she asked.
In a dreamy state of mind, Tiberios began to gently stroke her hair.
“How are you?” He murmured quietly, wanting to know everything. “Talk to me, Please. You don’t know how much I’ve missed the sound of your voice.”
Tiberios was desperate to hear a retelling of every minute that he missed in between his death and being reunited with her now, on the shores of Beqanna’s mighty river. It was as if he were suddenly ravenous to fill a void that’d been growing unceasingly since he’d died, and he wouldn’t be satisfied with the bare bones of any story she might spin for him. He wanted it all: the good, the bad, and the ugly - and he’d stay beside Talulah through the whole thing, no matter how long it took for her to tell.
He was just as amazed by Talulah, how the very first touch of her smooth, magical skin seemed to unlock a flood of memories he’d nearly forgotten on his journey through a second mortal life. Floating through them, Tiberios closed his eyes and leaned into her embrace like a ship dropping anchor, mooring himself to the very physical, very warm reality of her presence as all the pain and anger he’d forgotten came crashing over him.
It was one thing to live on the edge of humanity and rely fully on his senses, to pretend like nothing bad had ever happened, but it was an entirely different thing to come face-to-face with someone Tiberios thought he’d lost forever. The joy of seeing her again, of touching her and feeling recognized, of feeling loved … It was a joy shadowed by bitterness. In the wake of his resurrection, he couldn’t forget that everything he’d ever loved or cared about was gone. The Dale, The Falls, everyone in them and the family built up around him; they were all of them either dead or vanished in time.
That realization had broken him, in a way. It had forced Tiberios to shrivel inward, to suppress the memories until he only thought about eating, drinking, or surviving. So it was only right that remembering would cause him pain, since shoving jagged pieces together never could quite make an object whole again.
“You are here,” she guides him back like the stars guide their watery vessels, and Tiberios is recovered enough that his half-hearted smirk makes an appearance. He only has enough time to appreciate her everlasting beauty and catch a rare twinkle in her eye when, at last, she distances herself, but the ache to have Talulah cradled against him one more time is nearly more than Tib can bear. He’s secretly glad when she comes rushing back, and not just because he thought he might fall apart again if she stayed away.
It’s because she reminded him of so much more than just memories.
“Alright, I won’t.” He chuckled, more than willing to give her anything she asked.
In a dreamy state of mind, Tiberios began to gently stroke her hair.
“How are you?” He murmured quietly, wanting to know everything. “Talk to me, Please. You don’t know how much I’ve missed the sound of your voice.”
Tiberios was desperate to hear a retelling of every minute that he missed in between his death and being reunited with her now, on the shores of Beqanna’s mighty river. It was as if he were suddenly ravenous to fill a void that’d been growing unceasingly since he’d died, and he wouldn’t be satisfied with the bare bones of any story she might spin for him. He wanted it all: the good, the bad, and the ugly - and he’d stay beside Talulah through the whole thing, no matter how long it took for her to tell.
@Talulah I mean this literally when I say that this reunion thread is giving emotional damage. In the best way possible.